Scott Jurek: Ultra Legend Stages a Comeback

New year plans include ultras in Europe and work on a book

“Most self discovery happens during the toughest moments. It breaks one down and requires you to dig deeper. When I’m lying on the pavement at mile 80 and it’s 100 degrees out, what motivates me to get up and finish the race? That is the self-discovery that occurs. You get a glimpse of your soul at times and see what really makes you tick. You go deeper in finding out what’s possible and what one can achieve.”

—SCOTT JUREK

Scott Jurek training with a Tarahumara runner.

Thirty-seven year old Scott Jurek never intended to be a professional ultramarathoner. Born and raised in Northern Minnesota, he grew up on an old farm outside of Duluth. As a youngster, he developed a love for the outdoors, hunting and fishing with his dad and cross country skiing and building hiking trails with his brother and sister. It was the isolation of the North Country that instilled self-sufficiency, hard work and a sense of wonderment within Jurek. “A lot of people say, ‘Look at where you grew up and look at where you are now,’” he says. While he has gone from an avid hunter and fisherman to an ultrarunning vegan, he insists that his upbringing was formative. “My mother was always encouraging me and my brother and sister to explore different things; that laid the foundation,” he says.

“Early on, I got used to spending long hours out on the rough waters of Lake Superior, fishing or on the trail out in the woods — that was something I was prepared for,” says Jurek. In addition to being bred to withstand the elements, he developed a strong work ethic. Since his mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at an early age, Jurek and his siblings were charged with doing much of the work around the house. Whether it was weeding the garden or splitting wood, the Jurek children always knew work came before play. “I grew up in a family where you worked really hard whether or not you wanted to. I spent a lot of time doing laborious tasks and seeing the progress and results of getting something done, even though I would have rather been playing baseball with my friends,” he remembers.

Little did Jurek know that by his late 20s, he would be one of the major faces of ultrarunning. With seven consecutive Western States 100 wins, along with countless other titles, he helped bring the sport out of obscurity and into the mainstream. What makes his story even more compelling is the fact that despite his seemingly superhuman endurance, challenges in his life off the trail have proven him to be a mere mortal with prodigious resolve and resiliency. After surviving a difficult 2009, he came roaring into the new decade with a renewed sense of self and a new level of intensity, proving his career is far from finished.

The early years of an ultra legend

Jurek was introduced to the world of endurance sports in high school through Nordic skiing, running simply as an off-season cross-training activity. “It was one of those things where I wasn’t really in love with running,” he says. He was, however, enamored with competition. Upon a dare from his friend, Dusty Olson, he entered his first ultramarathon as a 20-year-old college student, the 1994 Minnesota Voyageur 50 Mile Trail Race. “It was this extreme challenge to see what I could do; it seemed so far out there,” he laughs. “Most 20-year-olds’ ideas of extreme sports don’t involve running for eight hours, but that’s what I did.”

After training in and around his hometown, known for its extensive trail system, he toed the line of that first ultra. Miles into the race, fatigue set in, leaving him to wonder what he had gotten himself into. “It was the most difficult thing I had ever done in my life. Afterwards I thought, ‘Never again, this is way too hard,’” he remembers. “A few hours later,” he smirks, “I thought it wasn’t so bad and figured I’d try another one.” To the great surprise of many, the unknown Jurek came in second that day.

As he worked his way through physical therapy school in Duluth, he ran two big races a year, Grandma’s Marathon and the Voyageur 50 Mile. He became a true student of the sport, voraciously consuming running research and training advice. In 1999, he entered his first Western States 100, starting a winning streak that would last for seven consecutive years (1999-2005). He also went on to win the 152-mile Spartathlon three years in a row (2006-2008), the Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Run, the Badwater Ultramarathon twice (2005-2006) and a laundry list of other first-place finishes.

As Jurek discovered, when you get into a sport like ultramarathoning, it isn’t for the fame and fortune. After competing, and winning, for over 10 years, Brooks offered Jurek his first big sponsorship. Up until that point, he continued to work as a full-time physical therapist in Seattle, where he moved in the early 2000s. He now had a sponsor and was at the top of his game; it seemed as though he had finally arrived. Life plays tricks on us sometimes, however, and just when it seemed as if all the pieces were falling into place for Jurek, things began to fall apart.

A series of challenges

Perhaps it was inevitable; Jurek had been collecting victories for so long, he was bound to have a down year. Or maybe it was the challenges he faced off the trail that affected his running. Either way, 2009 was not a good year for Scott Jurek. After ending his 12-year marriage and having his mom pass away, priorities in his life began to shift. “Maybe I just wasn’t hungry enough in 2009,” he ruminates. “Obviously things happening in my life contributed, but some of it was just the long amount of time I had spent in the sport. I needed to do some soul searching.”

In 2010, Jurek moved to Boulder, in hopes of breathing life back into his running career. Surrounded by some of the best endurance athletes in the world, he could think of no better place to train. “After my mom passed away, I just realized the importance of celebrating life and, for me, running is one of the ways I do that. I try to take the moment and go with it. That’s what trail running is all about: being in the moment and getting connected with a more primitive nature,” he explains.